In today’s Ticker: A new MLB stadium possibly in the offing, a sloppy NFL number retirement, and more.
Uni Watch News Ticker for Sept. 12, 2023
Posted in:
Baseball
MLB
- Phillies DH Bryce Harper wore a pair of forest green-accented batting gloves on Sunday in support of the hometown Eagles kicking off their 2023 NFL season. (From Jason Reed)
- The Rays may finally have a new stadium deal in the works.
Football
NFL
- Here’s a look at the history of the NFL logo. (Thanks, Phil)
- ESPN slightly altered the Bills’ helmet stripe on one of their Monday Night Football graphics. (From Moe Khan)
- Washington QB Sam Howell not only removed his helmet visor during Sunday’s game — he also switched to a new helmet model entirely. Note the difference in vents on the crown of each lid. (From @GnarwhalNick)
- The Chargers retired the numbers of pass-catching greats Kellen Winslow and Charlie Joiner at a ceremony during Sunday’s home opener. Part of the ceremony included the players being presented with framed jerseys of their era. However, as Tim Weaver points out, “The attention to detail is lacking. The Chargers’ 1978-1987 last name numbering/plates were nothing like these (which appear to be a knockoff Champion type font like the Bills had circa 1988-1993).” … “Also, the Chargers wore white at home almost all the time back then, so picking the blue was a strange choice!”
- The designs for this season’s “Salute to Service” caps have apparently leaked. (From Joe Pignataro)
- Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The Bucs, who normally wear captaincy patches, were not wearing them on Sunday. It’s not yet clear if this is a new policy for them or just a one-week thing. (From Mike Stein)
College
- BYU will wear a royal/white/royal uniform combination on Saturday against Arkansas. (From Phil)
- UAB will wear uniforms promoting pediatric cancer awareness on Saturday when they take on Louisiana. The uniforms will include the names of about 100 children who have been afflicted by the disease. (From Phil)
- Ohio State walk-on Caden Davis posted a TikTok video yesterday that highlights some of the differences in the Buckeyes’ new all-grey uniforms, which they’ll debut later this year. Of note — the Buckeyes will wear a new helmet and pants with this set, as the uniform employs a grey that’s a few shades darker than they typically wear. (From Phil)
- Montana will wear brand new black uniforms and pants on Saturday against Ferris State. (From @JeramieRobinson)
- The number font on USC QB Caleb Williams’s uniform in this Nissan commercial is off — it looks nothing like the current font the Trojans wear.
Basketball
College
- Auburn fanatic Clint Richardson has a breakdown of the Tigers’ new set over on his blog.
Soccer
International
- England: There are whispers that Manchester United are considering a new jersey advertiser. (From our own Anthony Emerson)
- UK: England’s men’s team will wear throwback warm-up shirts prior to today’s friendly with Scotland, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first international game. (From our own Jamie Rathjen)
More
- Here’s a fun Twitter thread about the strangest uniform numbers that have ever been worn on a pitch. (From our own Anthony Emerson)
Grab Bag
- Bloomfield College in New Jersey, which was founded as a private Presbyterian school, recently merged with nearby Montclair State University. The Bloomfield campus will now be called Bloomfield Collage of Montclair State University, and officials have unveiled a new logo to go with the new name. (From John Cerone)
- Also from John: This graphic shows the history of the Fanta soda logo.
Comments (26)
I appreciate that Montana says a blackout is coming but the first uniform shot we get is of white cleats. Pedantic, yes, but it’s just all so silly.
Am I correctly seeing a Reebok logo on the Chargers’ jerseys? That makes it even more bizzare.
Yeah, I spotted that as well. Did the Chargers wear these throwback uniforms back during Reebok’s era of outfitting NFL teams?
They had something similar during the Reebok days:
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But I think the shade of blue given to Joiner and Winslow is more royal.
No idea where these would have come from.
It’s especially weird because it’s the enclosed vector logo from the 2000s.
I didn’t watch the game last night, but seeing footage this morning, the Jets included retro NFL and AFC logos on their banners at the base of the stands in addition to the retro JETS logo.
In that Bills helmet graphic, the logo is significantly altered, too, with some kind of outline and bubble effect. It looks like a bad AI-assisted rendering to me.
I thought the Jets unis looked pretty good on the field. Much better than I was expecting. Kind of liked the look of their current helmets paired with them too.
Agreed!
I wish the helmet logo could stay when they wear their regular uniforms.
The uniforms definitely looked great from the footage I saw.
“The Bloomfield campus will now be called Bloomfield Collage of Montclair State University,” It should be College
If it were the “art” campus, then “collage” might be appropriate. ;)
I noticed watching highlights of the Bills-Jets game the visor tabs on the Bills white helmets were blue. The Jets’ visor tabs matched the green helmets.
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I’m assuming it’s because if the tabs were white the maker’s mark wouldn’t be visible!
The NOB font on the Chargers’ framed jerseys isn’t a Champion font. It is what the Saints wear now. It’s still not appropriate for a Chargers jersey of any era. It is interesting that they went with Reebok jerseys, since Reebok wasn’t making jerseys during the time either of those guys played.
I’m not sure a new ballpark for the Rays is going to help with attendance. They have placed a pretty good product on the field over the years, and fans still don’t come to the games. The same I idea didn’t work in Miami. Would hate to see them move. But, maybe going to a city that would support them would make more sense than building a new stadium in the Tampa/St Pete area.
A franchise move now would be poorly timed as MLB is preparing to expand, and would bristle at the potential for one of their expansion sites to be taken off the table. If a franchise move *does* occur, the likelihood of baseball remaining in Oakland increases, so at least one city is looking forward to it.
Oakland is finished as an MLB city once the A’s leave.
Cynical me thinks ‘fans’ will come out to see a new Rays stadium for a while…then will settle back to what they are now once the novelty wears off.
Let’s assess the likely sites of new MLB franchises, shall we? Las Vegas is #1, the A’s are going there. Nashville is #2, look for them to get an AL expansion team. Now it gets a little murkier, with Salt Lake City, Portland OR, San Antonio, San José, and maybe Oakland or Montreal if a miracle should occur. Where should the Rays go?
Regarding Sam Howell and his helmet. Seems a lot of guys don’t like the Axiom when there isn’t a visor. The opening without the top bar is HUGE. Some players seem to be OK without the visor but I know the Eagles Hasson Reddick switches back to the Speedflex in the rain so he can wear a helmet without the visor.
Paul, I might have to email you some stuff. Riddell has made quite a few custom facemasks for the Axiom that have a top bar now. Guys on Wyoming, Illinois and K-State are wearing them. I’m guessing we’ll see more and more “traditional” masks if they want the Axiom to be successful.
How was he able to change whole helmets in the first place? Doesn’t this go against the reasons for the whole “one helmet” edict the NFL had until last year?
Look at the last three words of your comment.
Players have been using multiple helmets for games and seasons for some time. Heck, I’d venture out to say every player has a backup helmet. It’s one of the reasons I always questioned the 1-shell rule and their argument that it was for player safety.
Of course one of the most famous backup helmets was when Daryl Johnston had to wear Brett Favre’s helmet in the Pro Bowl!
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One more thing. Am I the only one that can’t stand Nike’s new jersey template? The silly holes throughout look bad. The chest wordmark (as mentioned with Texas) is pushed way too far on every jersey. The collars stink and were really noticeable with the Bills.
Why does Nike continually make things worse?
“…the Chargers wore white at home almost all the time back then, so picking the blue was a strange choice!”
Winslow and Joiner only played in LA for road games…and perhaps they feel (as some do?) that San Diego is the Chargers ‘home’, so using the blues – though flawed – makes a bit of sense in that regard?.
Of course the Chargers name, colors, branding, etc…should have stayed with the city for when San Diego gets another NFL team, right? ; )
Yep. Just like the A’s name/records should stay with Philadelphia…er…Kansas City…er…Oakland when they move to Las Vegas.
The Athletics’ tenure in Oakland has been curiously close to that in Philadelphia. They spent 53 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, 54+ in Oaktown. There were 5 World Champions in Philly vs. four in the Bay Area… and both locations were well-acquainted with the cellar. Futility didn’t start in Oakland. Who is more deserving of the intellectual property? It’s a toss-up.
the Buckeyes will wear a new helmet and pants with this set, as the uniform employs a grey that’s a few shades darker than they typically wear.
The new helmet and pants should be what they typically wear, because the regular ones are closer to silver, and look washed out when they play road games on a sunny day.
They are the Scarlet and Gray, after all, not the Scarlet and Silver.